Frying Pans: A Flower's Best Friend
by StarryNightT
Summary: Rapunzel did not see Flynn's actions as charming, she saw them as arrogant, and she wasn't going to be intimidated by him. A look into Rapunzel's thoughts from when Mother Gothel says, "never" to when Flynn says, "fine".


**Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled - but that doesn't mean a girl can't dream.**

Shattered. That's how Rapunzel felt the moment Mother Gothel told her to _'never ask to leave this tower again'_. Though Rapunzel would never tell Mother exactly how broken she felt when Gothel slammed the window and went on her usual rant about how the outside world is a '_terrible place_'. How much it hurt Rapunzel's self-esteem when Mother pointed out every flaw she had and then some. All her hopes, her dreams… She was never going to see the floating lights... Mother would see to that. If only there was some way to just convince Mother! That if given the chance, Rapunzel could show Gothel that she could handle herself in the outside world for a day. She would do _anything_ to see the lights! But what could she do?

Rapunzel sat at her window for a long time after letting Mother down again contemplating just that. What could she do to help her mother see that she wasn't a child anymore? That, surely, one day outside wouldn't do any harm? Pascal watched Rapunzel with large, sad eyes.

"Please, don't look at me that way, Pascal," Rapunzel said in a somber tone. "I want to see the lights just as bad as you do." Pascal just looked at her and made a soft growling noise indicating his displeasure of not being able to see the lights and his inability to make his best friend feel better.

"Well, if you can come up with any ideas, I'm all for it."

Pascal stared.

Rapunzel stared back.

Pascal blinked.

Rapunzel sighed. This was pointless. Clearly Pascal couldn't think of a way out of this one either. At this rate, they'd be in this tower forever. Not that Rapunzel minded it, of course. She loved her tower! It had been her home for eighteen years! It was filled with everything that defined her; her activates, her three well-loved books, the paintings that covered nearly every inch of her walls… She'd have to find something else to paint soon, she was running out of room. But… Rapunzel just wanted one day. One day out there so she could see the floating lights up close. However, that dream seemed pretty nonexistent at the moment.

Pascal climbed up Rapunzel's arm and nudged his tiny head against her cheek, trying his best to comfort her. Rapunzel reached up and patted Pascal softly on the head. She glanced behind her and took in all of the paintings covering the walls, all of the new things to do that Mother had brought her over the years. She shouldn't be upset about this, look at all of the things she had! What were a few floating lights compared to everything else Rapunzel's mother had given her?

Rapunzel smiled softly at Pascal, "I've got my Mother's love, I shouldn't ask for more. I've got so many things I should be thankful for! Yes, I have everything, except I guess… a door," she shrugged, " Perhaps, it's better that I stay in…"

Rapunzel looked back toward her newest painting, the one of the floating lights, sadness seeped in again. No matter what she told herself to feel better, she knew she'd always dream about those lights until the day it came true.

"But tell me… when will my life begin?"

Rapunzel stared sadly out her window for a few more moments before her face set with a determined look. Well, if she wasn't getting the lights this year then she might as well stop moping around about it. She'd try again next year, and the year after that - forever, if she had too! Though, she hoped it wouldn't take that long.

Rapunzel pushed herself up from her leaning position on the window ledge and heaved her seventy feet of long, shining, blonde hair back in through the window.

"Come on, Pascal," Rapunzel said to her chameleon friend. "If we're going to convince Mother that we're adult enough to go outside then we better stop whining. Maybe if we get her in a good enough mood she'll change her mind!"

Pascal nodded enthusiastically and Rapunzel set off to do anything she could to change Mother's mind. Be it clean the tower spotless, bake Gothel her favorite flavor of cake, or make her a new dress; Rapunzel was determined to stop at nothing to see those floating lights. And she _would_ see them! …Eventually. Maybe not this year, but she would - she could _feel_ it in her very being. Little did she know that her dream, while under very different circumstances, just might be coming true…

An hour or so had gone by before Rapunzel first heard the foreign noises coming from outside her tower. She had been in her kitchen nook, cleaning up the earlier mess she had made from her cooking and baking extravaganza when she heard what sounded like a strange grunting from outside. In all of her eighteen years in the tower she had never heard such a human sound come from the bottom of her tower. Unless you count Mother Gothel calling Rapunzel to let down her hair, of course. But this sounded nothing like Mother and it terrified Rapunzel.

"Pascal!" whispered Rapunzel. "Sneak out the window and see what the noise is!"

Pascal quickly blended in with the colors of his surroundings and scampered to the window-sill. He glanced down; gave a small, scared squeak; and ran back to Rapunzel with wide eyes.

"Is there someone out there?" whispered Rapunzel. Pascal nodded his head vigorously. The noises grew louder. "Are they trying to get inside?" choked Rapunzel, almost too scared to speak. The chameleon nodded harder.

The blood drained for Rapunzel's face. What was she going to do? She'd never dealt with an intruder before let alone a person! _Oh no, oh no, oh no! What am I going to do?_

Rapunzel covered her mouth with her hands and gave a couple frantic hops while she panicked. They were probably coming for her hair! This was what Mother had been warning her about all of these years, wasn't it? She wrung her hands around a lock of said hair as she whipped her head from side to side, not entirely sure what she was looking for, when she spotted a frying pan sitting on the counter that she had yet to put away. Rapunzel stared at it for a moment before her eyes narrowed in on the object in question and shakily grabbed the handle. She quickly darted to the shadows to the right of the window and held her frying pan at the ready as she listened to the sounds get closer.

Eventually after what felt like a lifetime, but was likely only minutes; Rapunzel saw a tall, broad figure hop through the window, turn around, and slam the shutters closed. The person took a few deep-winded breaths and, with their back still to Rapunzel, focused on a satchel they had slung around their back.

The stranger exhaled, "Ah, alone at last!"

CLANG!

The stranger's head turned slightly to the right and fell forward with a loud bang onto the ground. Rapunzel stood frozen with shock, the frying pan still raised over her head, after striking and knocking out the stranger.

Rapunzel let out a frightened, "Eek!", and ran behind a nearby mannequin. After waiting a few moments, she slowly peeked out from behind the mannequin and; praying that the stranger wouldn't awaken; inched closer to the sleeping figure, still hiding behind her makeshift barricade. When Rapunzel got as close as she could without physically running over the stranger, she worked up her courage, grabbed the handle of her trusty frying pan with two hands, stepped out from behind the mannequin and inched still closer.

Rapunzel lightly tapped the stranger on the side of the head a few times with the tip of her frying pan, checking to see if they were really unconscious. _Who _is_ this person? _Apart from Mother Gothel, Rapunzel had never seen another human before and this stranger _certainly_ didn't look anything like what she was used too. Their figure was… off. Instead of the curves and soft features she knew belonged to Mother and herself, this person had a very broad, muscular figure. Rapunzel could tell, even with the intruder lying on the floor, that they were very tall and lean. Their hair was much shorter too but long enough that Rapunzel could tell that it moved when the intruder moved. Even the strange person's hands were much larger than her petite ones. _Could this be a… _man_? _Since Rapunzel had never seen what a man looked like before she had nothing to compare the stranger too; however, given that Mother and herself were female and, with this person being so anatomically different, he _had_ to be a man, right?

Rapunzel looked toward Pascal in confusion, hoping that the little chameleon would lend her some insight. Pascal just looked back and her and shrugged. He must not know either. Rapunzel let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and reached her frying pan forward, tilting the stranger's head slightly to the right so the left half of his face was more exposed. She could see brown hair, the same color as the locks on his head, covering his chin. Well, _this_ was new. Rapunzel knew that hair didn't typically grow on a woman's face, he _must_ be a man!

Rapunzel glanced back toward Pascal. He walked a toward painting of a man that Mother Gothel had drawn earlier in effort to keep Rapunzel from going outside. It was a crude representation of a _'man with pointy teeth' _which Pascal mimicked. Rapunzel turned the frying pan around in her hands and used the handle to slowly lift the man's top lip revealing perfectly straight teeth without a fang insight.

Rapunzel stared down at the man in confusion. Where were the pointy teeth Mother had so theatrically warned her about? Finally, Rapunzel used the pan's handle to push back the lock of hair that had been covering the top half of the man's face.

She let out a small gasp, transfixed by his features. He looked nothing like the monsters Mother had been filling her head with. He wasn't scary. In fact he was, dare she think it, kind of handsome. She leaned in closer, not fully aware she was doing so, as she studied the masculine planes of his face. Until suddenly, with absolutely no warning for the poor girl, he gave a grunt and opened his hazel eyes. Rapunzel gasped, swung her pan, and once again rendered the man unconscious.

_Great, _she thought, _now what? _She couldn't just leave him on the floor like that and she couldn't keep knocking him out. That would probably lead to brain damage. She glanced around the room hoping to see a solution but failed at having any jump out at her. Rapunzel gave a questioning look toward Pascal, eager to see if he had come up with something. The little chameleon pointed his tail toward a large armoire against the wall.

Rapunzel grinned. _Perfect!_

She carefully wrapped her long, golden hair around the man and secured it so he wouldn't fall out. Then, grabbing hold of her hair, began to drag him across the floor. Two big tugs across the floor and Rapunzel was already panting with exertion. _Geez, he's heavy! _But Rapunzel was determined, and when she sets her mind to something it gets done. So she took a better hold of her hair and continued to drag the man's dead weight across the floor toward the closet. She gave one final heaving tug and stumbled into the armoire's doors, letting out a large breath. Now for the hard part, getting him _into_ the closet.

First Rapunzel tried sliding the man into the closet head-first, but that just resulted in his head going in the space between the armoire and the floor. Then, she tried swinging him in, which succeeded, but her hair got stuck with the man inside. Rapunzel banged her head against the doors in frustration. Several more tries later left the man's head and arms hanging upside down over the bottom edge of the closet and his feet stuck up in the air - Rapunzel couldn't quite figure out how that had happened.

Eventually Rapunzel was able to push the man into the closet and close the door. She leaned against it for a second before stepping away and wiping her hands together in a job well done. Only to have the doors open and allow said man to fall on top of her. It was at this point that she resorted to a broom.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Rapunzel was able to close the armoire doors and keep them closed. On the poor man's fingers. She carefully pushed those in one by one. However, Rapunzel knew that if she didn't find something to block the doors they'd be sure to open and she'd have to spend who knows how long getting the man back in there again. She quickly glanced around the room and spotted a chair nearby. She smiled, _that should work._ Rushing over, she grabbed the chair (and her frying pan) and pulled it over to the closet, knocking into the mirror beside it so it turned toward her.

"Okay, okay… I've got a person in my closet…", said Rapunzel. "I've got a person in my closet…" She looked toward herself in the mirror in disbelief.

"I've got a _person_… in my _closet_! Ha ha! Ah, too weak to handle myself out there, huh, Mother?" Rapunzel dusted the imaginary dust off her skillet and swung it around in a circle, "Well, hmmhmm, tell that to my frying pa- ow!" the frying pan had hit Rapunzel in the head.

"Ugh…" Rapunzel gingerly rubbed the side of her head that met her frying pan and, while glancing down, noticed something shinning behind her in the reflection of the mirror. She turned around and looked toward the object that had caught her eye. It was the man's satchel, but why was it shining? Rapunzel walked over to the fallen bag and carefully reached inside, grabbing onto something smooth, hard, and cool. She carefully pulled out the object and watched it glimmer in the sunlight.

_What in the world? _Rapunzel had thought the man was strange but this object took the cake. A large, golden circle surrounded by rocks like Rapunzel had never seen or believed to have existed. It was beautiful, that was for sure, but what was it? A bracelet? Rapunzel stuck her right arm through the hole and looked to Pascal to judge his opinion. The chameleon shook his head. _That can't be right… _She took it off her arm and held it up to her eye to look through one of the large, clear crystals. A magnifying glass, perhaps? Pascal shook his head again. _Hmm… _Rapunzel looked back toward the mirror.

_I wonder… _

Carefully, Rapunzel turned the object in her hand until the jewels were in front and slowly placed it on her head.

An odd feeling came over Rapunzel as she stared at her reflection while wearing the object in the mirror. It was almost as if… it belonged there. The same feeling seemed to overcome Pascal for a second as well, before he shook his head in a _'no, that's not right either'_ type of way. This went right by Rapunzel, however, as she was still enamored with the object in the mirror. Unfortunately this did not last long.

"Rapunzel!" Came Mother Gothel's voice from the ground below.

Rapunzel knocked into the mirror, quickly yanked the object off her head, grabbed the satchel off the floor and hastily stuffed them in a nearby pot.

"Let down your hair!" cried Mother.

Rapunzel rushed to the window. "One moment, Mother!" she called, and threw open the shutters, hooking her long hair around the hook above the window, and letting her hair down to her mother waiting below.

"I have a big surprise!" Mother Gothel called.

"Uh, I do too!" replied Rapunzel as she pulled her mother up the tower.

"Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger!"

"I seriously doubt it…" mumbled Rapunzel.

"I brought back parsnips," said Mother Gothel as she gracefully slid in from the window-sill, "I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite. Surprise!" Gothel threw out her arms extravagantly acting like it was impossible that any surprise Rapunzel could have could beat out _parsnips._

"Well, Mother, there's something I want to tell you."

"Oh, Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight, especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" Gothel hung her cloak on a hook by the window and walked over to a nearby table.

"Okay," said Rapunzel trying to cut to the chase. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier-"

"I hope your not still talking about the stars," cut in Gothel.

"Floating lights! And, yes, I'm leading up to that-"

"Because I really thought we dropped the issue, sweetheart."

"No, Mother, I'm just saying, you _think_ I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there-" Rapunzel reached back toward the closet which still contained the unconscious man.

"Oh, darling," said Gothel in a condescending tone. "I _know _you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there."

"But if you'd just-"

"Rapunzel, we're _done_ talking about this."

"Trust me!" Rapunzel said desperately placing her hand on the chair in front of the closet doors. _If I could just get her to see!_

"Rapunzel-"

"I know what I'm-"

"_Rapunzel-"_

"Oh, come on!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE LIGHTS, RAPUNZEL! _You are not leaving this tower! EVER!"_

Rapunzel was shocked into silence. She could feel every hope she had of seeing the lights crumble around her. She looked with saddened disbelief at her mother and slowly lifted her hand away from the chair. She knew now that man or no, her mother would never let her leave. Her proof that she was strong enough was pointless. It was official - she'd be in this tower forever.

"Great," Gothel put her hand to her head and dropped into a chair. "Now _I'm_ the bad guy."

Rapunzel looked away from her mother and toward her painting of the floating lights. Her dream. She would never get it now… unless… Rapunzel looked back toward the closet, a plan forming behind her eyes. If Mother wasn't going to take her to see the lights, maybe, just maybe, this man will. _But, what if he really _is _after my hair? And, if not, how can I convince him?_

"All I was going to say, Mother, is that…" Rapunzel stepped in front of the closet while Gothel looked away, throwing her long hair behind her in such a way to conceal the chair leaning against the doors. "I know what I want for my birthday now."

"And what is that?" asked Gothel in an exasperated tone.

"New paint," Rapunzel said timidly, hoping to conceal the lie from her Mother. "The paint made from the white shells you once brought me."

"Well, _that_ is a very long trip, Rapunzel, almost three days time."

_Exactly, just enough time to get me to the lights and back_, thought Rapunzel. "I just thought it was a better idea than the… stars."

Gothel let out a loud sigh. "You're sure you'll be alright on your own?" she asked as she walked toward Rapunzel.

Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Mother's waist. "I know I'm safe as long as I'm here," she said as Mother kissed the top of Rapunzel's head.

Rapunzel quickly put together a basket of food for Mother Gothel as she fastened her cloak around her shoulders once again.

"I'll be back in three days time," said Mother as Rapunzel lowered her toward the ground below with her hair. "I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most."

Rapunzel waved goodbye, watching as Mother walked out of view into the cavern that would take her to the forest beyond. Then, as soon as Mother was out of sight, ran back to her frying pan and over to the closet. She slowly pulled the chair away and let out a deep breath. "Okay…"

Rapunzel grabbed part of her hair and used it as a whip to wrap around one of the handles of the closet and pulled the door open. The man, still unconscious, slowly fell out of the closet and onto his face, sliding forward until he was flat against the ground. Rapunzel cautiously walked over to him, "Um…" _Now what?_

Pascal looked back and forth between Rapunzel and the sleeping man dubiously. He wasn't sure what his best friend was up to but he was sure it wouldn't be good.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Pascal!" said Rapunzel. "You heard Mother. She's not going to let us see the lights; she made that perfectly clear." Rapunzel's forehead wrinkled with distress yet her eyes shone with determination.

"So, it's time for Plan B - we go and see the lights ourselves with Mother none the wiser. She'll be gone for three days getting that paint, she'll never even know we've gone."

Pascal was beginning to understand Rapunzel's plan - but where did the man come into this?

Rapunzel answered Pascal's unspoken question. "Unfortunately, seeing as I've never been out of the tower and you don't know the way, we're going to need a guide…"

Rapunzel dragged the chair that was previously keeping the closet closed closer to the man and heaved him up into it. Then she took her hair and wrapped it around the man, tying him to the chair. After all, he needed to be awake so Rapunzel could ask him about the lights and it would do no good if he tried to run away. Plus, with all those knocks to the head via frying pan, he might not be the most coordinated after waking up. He could fall out the window, and that was a very long drop.

With great difficulty, Rapunzel pulled the chair until it was in the light from the window then climbed the rafters, hiding in the shadows. She wasn't ready to reveal herself just yet. So, while hidden safely in the dark, Rapunzel motioned to Pascal to wake the intruder up.

First Pascal smacked the man on the face with his tiny paw, blending in with the color of the man's blue vest when he thought he had succeeded. When nothing happened, he slapped, then poked the man with his tail.

Still nothing.

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures so Pascal used the last trick up his sleeve - he shot his long tongue into the poor man's ear.

"AAHH!" That did it. The man jumped so violently from the wet foreign object being lodged in his left ear that Pascal fell from his shoulder and onto the floor.

"Huh? Wh-wha-huh?" The man glanced around at his surroundings then tried to move his arms; when he found that he couldn't, he looked down to see himself restrained to a chair. But the rope was very odd… it was thick, yes, but in millions of thin strands; not woven together like normal rope. It was also soft and a golden blonde in color. _What the…? Could this be…_

"Is this… hair?" The man's eyes followed the length of the hair away from his body into the shadows where a small, feminine voice came.

"Struggling…" Rapunzel's voice wavered. She took a deep breath, _Come on, Rapunzel you can do this! _"Struggling is pointless!"

"Huh?" The man's eyes strained to see the shadowy figure sitting in the rafters in the darkness. He kept his eyes on the figure as they jumped lithely down to the floor.

"I know why you're here," said Rapunzel. "And… I'm not… afraid of you…"

The man squinted into the darkness, "What?" he was also very confused. He wished that the girl would come out of the shadows and tell him what was going on. However, whatever he was expecting to emerge from the shadows, she clearly wasn't it. He stared at the girl with the insanely long hair, shock and confusion consuming him once more. She couldn't be older than eighteen, how in the world did she manage to capture him? He registered in the back of his mind that she was kind of cute but didn't focus on it for long. _Why_ was her hair so freakishly _long_? He was completely perplexed.

"Who are you, and how did you find me?" Rapunzel asked.

"Uh, huh…" The man completely missed the question. He was still trying to piece his thoughts together on this strange girl wielding a frying pan.

"Who _are_ you, and how did you _find _me?" Rapunzel said courageously as she tightened her hold on her frying pan and held it at the ready.

The man caught the question that time. _Time to bring on the charm… _He cleared his throat, "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say…" the man lowered his gaze and looked back up with a wide, cocky smirk on his face.

"Hi." He waggled his left eyebrow.

Rapunzel looked at him in confusion.

"How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider."

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows at _'Flynn Rider'_. Was this guy for real?

"How's your day goin'? Huh?"

Rapunzel scoffed; she did not see Flynn's actions as charming, she saw them as arrogant, and she wasn't going to be intimidated by him. Rapunzel slowly swung her frying pan until it was inches from Flynn's face. He leaned back in his chair, away from the deadly skillet. He would know, he had the bumps to prove it.

"Who else knows my location, _Flynn Rider?_"

"Alright, Blondie-"

"Rapunzel."

"Gesundheit. Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest, I came across your tower and f-" panic overtook Flynn's face as he frantically glanced around. "Oh, OH no! _Where_ is my satchel?"

Rapunzel smugly crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and raised an eyebrow. She officially had something on him, she'd be off to see those lights in no time. "I've hidden it," she smirked. "Somewhere you'll never find it."

Flynn stared at Rapunzel. _Uh, huh, right… _He looked to his right then over to his left immediately locating her most likely hiding spot. "It's in that pot, isn't it."

CLANG!

Flynn Rider slumped over in his seat, once again, officially unconscious. Pascal raised an eyebrow at Rapunzel. "Well, how was I supposed to know he'd find it so quick?" Rapunzel sighed. "Come on Pascal, lets find another hiding spot."

It took Rapunzel and Pascal a good half hour to find a better spot to hide the satchel. After all, there weren't many places to hide things in a circular tower. Once they found the location, however, Rapunzel was _sure_ Flynn wouldn't find it. If she could convince him that is. Rapunzel took her previous stance before Flynn, motioning for Pascal to wake him again.

This was how Flynn awoke to a frog's tongue being shoved in his ear for the second time in twenty-four hours. _UGH! Nasty! _He tried to rub his left ear on his shoulder in effort to remove the slime. "Would you _stop__that_!"

"_Now_ it's hidden where you'll never find it," said Rapunzel as she cut to the chase. "So," Rapunzel flicked back a long lock of hair and she walked around Flynn. "What do you _want_ with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?"

Rapunzel threatenly shoved her frying pan close to Flynn's face. "Sell it?"

"_Noo! _Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! _Literally!"_

"Y-eh, wait," _What? _"You _don't_ want my hair?"

"Why on _Earth_ would I want your hair? Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story."

"You're… telling the truth?" Rapunzel held the frying pan in her left hand, pointing it at Flynn's face in confusion.

"Yes!"

"Hmm…" Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. So he _wasn't_ there for her hair… In fact, he seemed to have absolutely no knowledge of the magical properties it possessed. Well, she wasn't going to be the one to clue him in on _that _detail; after all, this man was still a stranger who broke into her tower because he was being chased. He seemed harmless enough, but looks can be deceiving and there was no way she was going to trust him. Completely, anyway. She still wanted to see the lights and she was going to stick to her plan.

Pascal suddenly poked his head out from behind Rapunzel's neck and scampered down her still extended arm until he was right in front of Flynn's face. Flynn's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the frog and pulled his head back in fear of having it's tongue in his ear again. Pascal narrowed his eyes and sized up Flynn, pointing his tail at Rapunzel as if to say _'Mess with her and you're going to get it', _glaring at him as Rapunzel moved the pan, and Pascal, away.

Flynn was seriously beginning to question his sanity. Locked in a tower, being restrained by a tiny, eighteen year old girl with what had to be over fifty feet of hair, all the while feeling threatened by her frying pan and pet frog?

Rapunzel had walked as far away from Flynn as she could to converse her options with Pascal. "I know, I need someone to take me," she whispered, listening to Pascal's squeaky response. "I think he's telling the truth, too." Pascal squeaked. "He doesn't have fangs… Well, what _choice_ do I have?"

Meanwhile, Flynn had watched the whole insane exchange. Yep, he was losing it. _I gotta get out of here…_ Flynn attempted to free himself by throwing his upper body to the right - no such luck. He stopped when he heard Blondie sigh and stand-up straight.

"Okay, Flynn Rider, I'm prepared to offer you a deal." Rapunzel placed the tiny chameleon on her right shoulder, tucking the frying pan under the same arm.

"Deal?"

"Look this way." Rapunzel moved toward the left and tugged on her hair, intending to pull the chair in the direction she was walking. However, due to her walking around Flynn earlier, the chair spun one to many times causing it to fall forward, hitting Flynn's face with the floor. Rapunzel climbed onto the landing which housed her painting of the floating lights and pulled back the curtains concealing it.

"Do you know what these are?" Rapunzel asked, gesturing toward the painting.

Flynn responded, slightly muffled from the floor. "You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?"

"_Lanterns!_" Rapunzel said to herself and Pascal, "I _knew_ they weren't stars!" Rapunzel turned back to Flynn and pointed her skillet at him. "Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these 'lanterns'. You," she pointed the skillet toward Flynn, "will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then! And only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal."

"Yeah…" Flynn carefully pushed up with the tips of his fingers and pushed the chair onto it's side. "No can do. Unfortunately the kingdom and I aren't exactly 'simpatico' at the moment so I won't be taking you anywhere." This girl's entire "deal" had insanity written all over it. Flynn was pretty sure that even if he _hadn't_ just stolen the lost princess's crown jewels there would be no way he would ever go on her crazy journey. _She sure is something else._

Rapunzel stared at Flynn after his refusal, trying to determine whether she could break him into taking her or not. She then looked toward Pascal, who was still on her shoulder. Pascal made a fist with one paw and hit it into his other, open, one; apparently he thought she could break down Flynn's resolve too.

Rapunzel glared at Flynn; though he did not see this for he had, at some point, been able to move the chair so he rested on his back; and jumped down from the ledge. As she landed, she grabbed her hair and pulled, lifting the chair into it's normal upright position.

"Something brought you here, _Flynn Rider_," Rapunzel crept closer, pulling her hair taut as she neared Flynn. "Call it what you will; fate, _destiny_…"

"A horse," Flynn deadpanned.

"So I have made the decision to trust you-"

"A horrible decision, really."

"But _trust me _when I tell you this," Rapunzel gave her hair a final yank, causing the chair to tilt forward again, and placed her right hand against the top of the chair, above Flynn's left shoulder, to keep it from falling. She stared hard into Flynn's eyes, trying to convey just how serious she was. "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without _my_ help, you will never find your precious satchel."

"Let me just get this straight, I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you'll give me back my satchel?" _This has to be some kind of joke, _thought Flynn, _what is so important about these damn lanterns?_

"I _promise_."

Flynn narrowed his eyes in doubt at Rapunzel.

"And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise."

Flynn raised an eyebrow at this. This girl had knocked him out _three_ times now, had him tied to a chair with her hair as the rope, and was making ridiculous promises to give a thief back his stolen crown if he'd just take her to see some stupid lanterns.

"_Ever."_

He was going to say no. He _had_ to say no. Yet, he was feeling his resolve start to slip… This could not happen. What kind of powers did this girl wield that would make Flynn Rider, the kingdom's most notorious thief, bend to her will? No, absolutely not, he was going to have to pull out the big guns.

"Alright, listen," said Flynn, "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice… here comes the smolder." _Let's see Blondie resist this._

Flynn looked down and rearranged his face into the look that was sure to make any girl's knees weak. He looked back up at Rapunzel, his lips in a slight pout, eyes soft, yet smoldering beneath lowered eyebrows as he tried to dazzle her with just a look. Rapunzel… did nothing. Her jaw was set as she continued to glare at Flynn, "the smolder" having no effect on her whatsoever.

Flynn kept "the smolder" on his face as he talked through pursed lips, "This is kind of an off day for me, this doesn't normally happen." _Guess Blondie's tougher than she looks. _"Fine! I'll take you to see the lanterns."

"REALLY?" squealed Rapunzel as she let the chair go in her excitement causing the chair to fall and Flynn to land on his face yet again. "Oops…" she said as she looked down at Flynn.

"You broke my smolder…" Flynn mumbled pathetically from the floor.

"Sorry!" Rapunzel half-heartedly said as she pushed the chair, and Flynn, back up. She should probably feel bad about dropping Flynn again - she had lost count on the amount of times she had ages ago; but she just couldn't keep the wide, elated grin off her face. _I'm going to see the lights! _She had never been so excited and happy before in her life, it made her want to jump around her tower in glee; however, that would have to wait.

Rapunzel tried to reign her excitement in as she quickly began to unwind her hair from Flynn. She couldn't believe her luck! What a rollercoaster today had already been - and it was only about noon! There was still a whole day to get through! A whole day in which she'd be leaving her tower for the first time ever, traveling so she could see her dream come true. Rapunzel didn't know whether she should laugh, cry, or sing - the volley of emotions running through her system was almost overwhelming.

She looked up at Flynn, her grin faltering a bit as she looked at his skeptical expression as she finished untying him. _He doesn't think I can handle this. Just like Mother doesn't think I can, either. Well, I'll show him._

Rapunzel tried her best to look calm, cool, and collected as she stood back to let Flynn stand. Flynn's frown deepened. He could tell she was trying to hide her raging emotions from him; and he knew that, sooner or later, this girl's dam was going to break. He didn't know whether she was going to be happy or sad or some crazy mixture of the two, but he hoped that when it happened, he could somehow convince her to give up on this asinine journey and give him back his satchel. He'd just have to be patient - he was good at patient, after all, he was a thief. _But I don't have to be happy about it_, Flynn grumbled in his mind.

Flynn cleared his throat and stood, making a show of dusting and straightening his clothes and rubbing his wrists. _Time to get this show on the road, the faster I get out of here, the faster I get my satchel and away from this crazy girl and her creepy frog._

"Well, Goldie. The clocks a-ticking, let's get you out of here and to those lanterns. Now, where did I drop those arrows?"

Rapunzel froze as Flynn walked toward the window and searched along the floor for his dropped arrows. This was happening very fast and Rapunzel, while still bursting with excitement, couldn't help but feel nervous. _What if Mother is right? What if I can't handle this? _She watched as Flynn located his fallen climbing tools and started to climb out the window. He spared a quick glance at her before retreating down the tower, causing Rapunzel's feet to finally move and follow him. She climbed onto the window-sill, looped her hair around the hook above the window ledge and looked down. Her nerves kicked in again as she looked at the ground and Flynn descending toward it.

Halfway down, Flynn looked back up to see if Rapunzel had started to climb down yet, slightly confused to see her still standing on the window holding her long, blonde hair. _There is no way Goldie is going to make it to the lanterns. I give her an hour before she cracks, gives me back my satchel, and lets me on my merry way_.

"You coming, Blondie?" he called up to her, a touch of irritation in his tone. _The sooner she makes up her mind the better…_

Rapunzel took a deep, calming breath and squared her shoulders. She could do this. She pushed away the creeping doubts laced with her Mother's voice and gazed at the world before her. It was time for her life to begin.


End file.
